- Centre-half says life getting close to impossible for defenders
- England players hit out at ‘really, really bad pitch’ in Skopje
Harry Maguire has expressed despair at the number of “soft” and “ridiculous” penalties being awarded in top-level football and called on the Premier League to lead the way in raising the threshold.
The England centre-half was on the right end of a questionable decision on Monday night when he was not penalised for a first-half barge on the North Macedonia forward, Eljif Elmas, inside the area. But England’s relief would turn to anger when the hosts in Skopje were awarded a hugely debatable penalty after Rico Lewis was pulled up for a foul on Bojan Miovski. Lewis, on his senior international debut, won a clearing header but, in the act of doing so, he put his hand in Miovski’s face – which was enough for the VAR to recommend the penalty.
Written by David Hytner
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/nov/21/harry-maguire-calls-on-premier-league-to-raise-threshold-and-avoid-soft-penalties under the title “Harry Maguire rails at ‘soft’ penalties and urges Premier League to lead way”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
